A fresh start has been awarded to the World Cup winner, though, with Mourinho relieved of his duties, and the 25-year-old is flourishing under a boss prepared to play to his strengths.

Pogba has been given greater freedom to express himself, in a Red Devils team seeking to be more attacking as a collective, and produced another match-altering moment of magic during his most recent outing against Tottenham.

After delivering the defence-splitting pass which allowed Marcus Rashford to net the winner against Spurs, the all-action midfielder told reporters: “Before the coach arrived I was in the shadows, on the bench, and I accepted that.

“It is a pleasure to play again. Now I am always smiling.”

The mood inside Old Trafford has been raised both on the field and in the stands since Solskjaer was appointed as Mourinho’s successor on an interim basis.

Solskjaer is earning plenty of plaudits as a result, with the feel-good factor returned to the Red Devils squad by a man who knows all about the pressure and expectation of delivering under the brightest of spotlights.

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“It’s a pleasure to be reunited with him,” Pogba said of a man he previously spent time working with in United’s youth system.

“I knew him from the academy and the reserves, when his nickname was ‘Supersub’.

“He is doing a really good job. As a player he knew the mentality of this club. He has come back to help us and it is going very well.”